Swiss-Japanese mobile hall to bring arts to quake-hit zone

A Swiss-Japanese project said Tuesday that it is building a mobile concert hall which would bring music and performance arts back to earthquake-devastated northern Japan.

"Using music to bring hope and promise to those who are suffering from the tragic major earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011: this is the idea and goal of a special project entitled Ark Nova - A Tribute to Higashi Nihon," it said.

Launched by the Lucerne Festival and the Japanese concert management agency Kajimoto, the project hired architect Arata Isozaki to work with British artist Anish Kapoor to design the mobile hall.

With a seating capacity of up to 700, the concert hall would comprise an inflatable shell made with an elastic material that can be dismantled and set up rapidly.

An artistic committee has also been formed to plan the series of performances which are due to begin in the spring of 2012.

"It's obvious that we can't undo all the terrible pain and suffering, but through music and art we want to give the people in the region new hope and promise," said Michael Haefliger, executive director of the Lucerne Festival.

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